Axovant jumps following update on Tay-Sachs Disease gene therapy program
Shares of Axovant (AXGT) have surged higher today following the company’s report of three-month data from an investigator-initiated study administering investigational AXO-AAV-GM2 gene therapy in a patient with advanced infantile Tay-Sachs disease, a rare and fatal pediatric eurodegenerative genetic disorder.
Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) is a fatal genetic disorder, most commonly occurring in children, that results in progressive destruction of the nervous system. Tay-Sachs is caused by the absence of a vital enzyme called hexosaminidase-A (Hex-A). Without Hex-A, a fatty substance, or lipid, called GM2 ganglioside accumulates abnormally in cells, especially in the nerve cells of the brain. This ongoing accumulation causes progressive damage to the cells.
In children, the destructive process begins in the fetus early in pregnancy. However, a baby with Tay-Sachs disease appears normal until about six months of age when its development slows. By about two years of age, most children experience recurrent seizures and diminishing mental function. The infant gradually regresses, and is eventually unable to crawl, turn over, sit or reach out. Eventually, the child becomes blind, cognitively impaired, paralyzed and non-responsive. By the time a child with Tay-Sachs is three or four years old, the nervous system is so badly affected that death usually results by age five.
The study is evaluating a total dose of 1.0x 1014 vg of AXO-AAV-GM2 in a 30-month-old child with advanced infantile Tay-Sachs disease.
AXO-AAV-GM2 was administered into the cisterna magna and lumbar spinal canal only.
Due to the patient’s advanced disease, a co-delivered intrathalamic injection of AXO-AAV-GM2 was not administered.
Future patients in the program, who are expected to be treated earlier in their disease course, will receive AXO-AAV-GM2 co-delivered into the thalamus bilaterally as well as into the cisterna magna and spinal canal.
“AXO-AAV-GM2 was generally well-tolerated and no serious adverse events have been reported as of the 3-month visit. At 3 months, no clinically relevant laboratory abnormalities were observed following AXO-AAV-GM2 administration.
The patient’s clinical condition was stable from baseline to month 3 without clinical deterioration observed on neurological exam.
Furthermore, there was no significant deterioration in the condition from the pre-treatment magnetic resonance imaging of the brain at baseline to the post-treatment MRI at month 3,” the company announced in press release earlier this morning.
Additionally, Chardan has upgraded Axovant to Buy from Neutral following the data report.
In morning trading, Axovant shares are up 46c, or 31%, to $1.94.
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